Closures are employed to selectively prevent or permit communication between the exterior and interior of a container (e.g., bottle, pouch, etc.). The closure has a body that defines at least one passage through the body for communicating with an opening of the container, and the closure body can be either (1) a separate structure for being attached to the container at the opening, or (2) a structure formed as a unitary portion of the container at the opening. A closure specifically designed for facilitating the dispensing of a fluent product is known as a dispensing closure. A typical dispensing closure has a body with a valve and/or a lid (e.g., cap or cover) to selectively close off the body passage.
Various fluent materials or substances (including oils, lotions, creams, gels, liquids, food items, granules, powders, etc.) may be packaged in a rigid, flexible, or collapsible container having a closure that can be opened and closed. A flexible container may be pressurized by a user to force the fluent substance from the container and through the closure body to dispense the fluent substance at a target region (e.g., onto a target surface area). If the container is a bottle, pouch, or other such container, then such a container with the closure mounted thereon and the contents stored therein may be characterized as a “package.”
A dispensing closure for a container may be provided with an elongate or pipette closure body for applications of various fluent substances. The elongate closure body may be especially suited for application of a fluent substance on a target area that is difficult to access, such as the application of hair oils to the human scalp. For low viscosity fluent substances, it may be difficult to cleanly and accurately dispense such a substance from an elongate closure body—especially in applications where the user squeezes the container to pressurize the fluent substance and expel the fluent substance. Residual fluent substance may remain in the passage through the closure body and may leak out of the passage even after the user has ceased pressurizing the container.
The inventors of the present invention have discovered that, in some applications, it may be difficult to properly dispense a fluent substance, especially a relatively low viscosity fluent substance, through a closure on a container in a desired manner. In particular, the inventors of the present invention have determined that it would be desirable to provide an improved dispensing closure for accommodating the dispensing of a fluent substance, especially a relatively low viscosity fluent substance, in a controlled and clean manner.
The inventors of the present invention have also determined that, in some applications, it would be advantageous for the user to be able to dispense the fluent substance in individual drops of a desired volume and/or in a steady stream.
The inventors of the present invention have further determined that it would be beneficial to provide an improved dispensing closure that would facilitate the termination or “cut off” of the flow in a clean and relatively precise manner, and in a way that would minimize leakage and/or dripping.
The inventors of the present invention have also determined that, in many applications, it may be desirable to provide an improved closure as part of a package wherein the closure structure facilitates or accommodates the cleaning of the closure and/or minimizes the potential for accumulation of residue, dirt, grime, etc. during the useful life of the package.
The inventors of the present invention have also determined that it would be desirable to provide an improved closure that can be configured for use with a container of a fluent substance so as to have one or more of the following advantages: (1) ease of manufacture and/or assembly, and (ii) relatively low cost of manufacture and/or assembly.
The inventors of the present invention have invented a novel structure for a closure for use with a container wherein the closure includes various advantageous features not heretofore taught or contemplated by the prior art.